


Trusted Words

by textstitcher



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 05:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30101175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/textstitcher/pseuds/textstitcher
Summary: A short conversation in a park.
Kudos: 2





	Trusted Words

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of the migration I am doing from FF.Net. This story has been edited and a bit updated.  
> 

It was a chilly fall day in the Washington, D.C. park. Jason Gideon watched people go by. Part of him wanted to follow those strangers to really see the type of lives they lived, but he was beyond that now. He hoped he wasn’t letting too many of the dangerous ones walk away.

After a while, he let his mind travel to a more positive place and set his sights on the harmless-looking ones. That was when he saw her, a pretty, petite black woman with a playfully serious look about her. He watched her walk towards him and did his best not to flinch when she sat next to him on the bench. He gave her a small nod and continued his people-watching. The long silence prompted him to say something.

Her clothes were both professional and casual. ‘A Capitol Hill newcomer?’ he thought. But looking closer, he saw a visible outline of a gun through her blazer. ‘Not so new, then.’ 

“Tough day?” he asked.

“This is what a tough day wants to be when it grows up,” she replied in a tired voice. She had been working with the BAU for a month and was still dealing with the stress of being an outsider.

“I know the feeling,” Jason offered, with a smile.

“I wish you did, so then we could swap stories.” She chuckled dryly. 

“The horror stories I know would give you nightmares for weeks.”

“I’m pretty sure I could come up with a good number of campfire tales myself.”

She stopped talking after that and reflected on how much she overestimated herself. The BAU was one of the crown-jewel placements in the FBI, but she could tell that it was taking something from her. ‘I never used to talk to strangers in a park,’ she thought. 

“But believe me when I say that there are good moments,” Jason said to break the silence.

“I do believe that. But I also hold on to the belief that the bad moments are more than the good… especially when it is the bad that starts it all off.” She said the last part quietly. Jason just nodded.

The two of them sat on the bench and said nothing more until the woman’s cell phone began to ring. She sighed heavily before answering. “Agent Todd,” she said, brusquely. Jason knew that tone.

After a short conversation, consisting of one-word answers on her end, she put her phone away and stood up to leave. Her blazer moved just enough for him to see her Quantico I.D. badge. Jason rose to his feet and held out his hand.

“Unsubs get extreme. Team members argue. The traveling loses its luster. And the cases are always tough, but the happy endings really do help,” Jason told her as he shook her hand.

“How did you know?” she asked. He gestured at where her badge was and she smiled. “Oh. Well, I will try to remember that… It’s difficult,” she said while adjusting her blazer.

“I know.” Oh, did he know.

“I’m Jordan Todd.”

“Oliver James,” Jason answered. He knew she would tell someone about her meeting with a former BAU agent and didn’t want to risk her finding out about his past. It was nice to have someone at the BAU who thought good of him.

“Ok, Mr. James… Have a good day.” And with that Jordan Todd walked away.

Jason sat back down on the bench and resumed his people watching.


End file.
